


Worth the Wait

by Icetown (orphan_account)



Category: Parks and Recreation
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-04
Updated: 2016-04-04
Packaged: 2018-05-31 05:35:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6457924
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/Icetown
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ben Wyatt attends his High School reunion in an attempt to reconnect with an old flame.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Worth the Wait

He should not have come. As soon as he walked through the door he immediately regretted his decision. Being at his high school reunion was more depressing than he imagined. He walked through the decorated gymnasium passing the dance floor and the tables, heading straight for the bar to order a beer. He stood sipping his drink as his eyes skimmed over all of his old classmates. He recognised most of them, despite it being 10 years since he’d seen them, how had it been 10 years already? It seemed like such a long time. He was definitely the only person here not married and without kids, maybe he should just leave? He’s sure he wouldn’t be able to stand hearing about how successful everyone else had become. 

“Can I have another”

The bartender nodded and handed him another beer. He realised the alcohol wasn’t helping his situation, he still felt incredibly lonely and uncomfortable. Plus, the fact that it was passed nine and there was no sign of Leslie Knope. He should’ve guessed she wouldn’t turn up, but he still couldn’t help but feel sad at her absence. The idea of reuniting with a high school sweetheart was dumb anyway, she was probably happily married now and would have zero interest in Ben. Once he’d downed his second beer he got up to leave.

“Ben Wyatt?” He turned and saw his old friend, Chris Traeger, looking at him with two finger guns pointed towards his chest.

“Chris? How have you been man?” He pulled him into a hug, surprised at their conformability after all this time. But if he’s honest, the only person he had any interest in reuniting with at the event, other than Leslie, was Chris. They’d been best friends for years but for some reason or another had become distant after college.

“I’m doing great. Last I heard you were working for the state”

“Yeah, I’m an auditor. You?”

“City Manager”

“That’s great”

“Thanks Ben. Can we catch up more later, I told the wonderful Ann Perkins I would dance with her”

“Sure. Oh wait, you haven’t seen Leslie have you?”

“You haven’t changed at all” Chris raised his eyebrow at him, with a knowing expression.

“I don’t know what you-“

“Don’t worry Ben” He put a hand on his shoulder “Ann said Leslie’s on her way” He said whilst practically sprinting away from him.

He was surprised at the sudden uplift in his mood, with the knowledge that he was going to see Leslie tonight. Husband or not he was determined to catch even a glimpse of Leslie Knope in the coming hours. With out realising it, Chris had just single-handedly convinced him to wait this hellish night out.

Once Chris had left for the dance floor, Ben soon realised he had no where to go. He didn’t want another beer and he sure didn’t want to talk to anyone else. He decided to go outside for some air, hoping it would kill some time and level his head some what, he also needed to get away from the shitty 80s music the DJ was playing. As he walked towards to the exit, a woman tumbled towards him, almost falling at his feet, before Ben caught her. Everything happened so fast it took him a few seconds to register who it was, but when he looked into her bright blue eyes there was no mistaking Leslie Knope. The years had been kind to her, she was still extremely beautiful. Her radiant, blonde hair still as gorgeous as he remembered.

He realised that he was still holding Leslie and so quickly helped her onto her feet and let go of her. His eyes racked over every detail of her, she was wearing a red shirt and black skirt that fitted her perfectly and made him short circuit, he’d always loved her in red. She had large heels on that made her almost as tall as him, which he didn’t like, he loved how short she was, a feature he used to tease her about. But they did make her legs look amazing. When he saw a hand wave in front of his face he realised that he was blatantly staring at her, with out saying a word.

“Erm… Hi… Leslie”

“Benji Wyatt” She smirked and cocked her head. His dropped his chin to his chest before raising his eyes to hers.

“Just Ben is fine” He smiled and she returned the gesture, causing his heart to ache. After 10 years she still managed to have this affect on him. “How have you been?”

“Great. I’m…. I’m doing just great. Were you leaving?”

“No. I was just going for some air. Did you…maybe…want to join me?”

“Erm… Yeah, Sure” They walked out of the doors of the high school together and sat down on a bench in the quad. They say in silence for a few minutes, watching their old class mates filter in and out of the gymnasium. Until Leslie broke the tension between them.

“This is just like old times” She turned to face him, a huge smile on her face. “Me and you sitting in the quad, avoiding everyone else”

He was suddenly lost for words, so he just smiled back at her and nodded in agreement.

“What do you do now?”

“I’m the deputy director of the Parks Department”

“That’s great, you always wanted to make into Government” He smiled at her “Still planning on becoming the first female president?”

“Of course” She smiled back at him, the way she tried to hold it back by biting her lip was mesmerising to watch. “What about you? After you left for college you sort of vanished”

“I’m a state auditor now”

“You always wanted to be a numbers robot” She teased, but Ben didn’t mind. He chuckled at her and his eyes diverted to the ground in front of him. “I should probably go and say hello to some people”

“Of course” He nodded at her and stood, reaching for her hand to help her up. “Maybe we could talk more later on”

“Alright Benji. I’ll come find you” And with that she was gone. He watched her turn on her heel and her blonde locks disappeared into the building. He breathed a sigh of relief at their encounter, it could have gone a lot worse he thought to himself.

He followed the path into the building and headed to a table where he sat and watched the evening unfold from a distance. As the night went on a few of his old friends came and spoke to him, but most people left shortly after introducing themselves in search of more interesting company. Nobody mentioned Ice Town to him, even though he knew they were all thinking about it. He watched on, as Leslie chatted to the other guests. Diverting his gaze whenever their eyes meet, as to not come off too creepy. He couldn’t help but feel a familiar pang of jealousy when she was talking to Mark Brendanawicz. He’d always hated him, ever since he dumped Leslie at senior prom so he could be with Cindy Eckhart he’d hated his guts. Cindy had been his date, but he really couldn’t have cared less when she spent the night with Mark. It was the way he treated Leslie that had really angered him. When he saw Mark put his hand on the small of Leslie’s back he couldn’t take it anymore.  He quickly stood up and left to walk the corridors, observing his old class rooms.

Once he’d circled a few times, he decided he should just leave. It was a terrible idea to come, it just reminded him of how little he’d accomplished since leaving high school. Until he turned the corner and saw Leslie, sitting on the floor leaning against the lockers. Her head was looking up towards the ceiling, her eyes red and watery.

“Rough night?” He asked, sitting on the floor next to her. She turned her head towards him and despite how depressed and upset she looked, she was still incredibly beautiful.

“Like you would not believe”

“I think I have an idea. What’s wrong?” He immediately realised how insensitive he was being and scrunched his face. “I’m sorry, you don’t have to answer that. I shouldn’t have asked that”

“It’s okay” She smiled at him, letting him know everything was fine. “It’s just Mark being a jerk. He hasn’t changed one bit. I don’t know why I though he would have”

“I never liked that guy”

“You were right, as usual” She held his gaze and he swore his heart was beating faster than was physically possible. “You told me not to bother with him 10 years ago and I didn’t listen to you then either”

“I think that was probably for my own sake” He mumbled, sure that she couldn’t hear him. But her expression quickly told him that she heard every word.

“What?”

“Erm… you know, because I…. I mean I…” he trailed off hoping the words would come to him but he found himself speechless. He couldn’t look at her, keeping his eyes firmly fixed on the ground. But she didn’t say anything, and he knew she wouldn’t leave it until he gave her a sufficient response. “I… I may have had a slight crush on you in high school. 

He held his breath, waiting for a response. But she never gave one, she kept her eyes fixed on the floor in front of her.

“Leslie, I… It’s no big deal. I mean that was a long time-”

“Do you want to dance?”

“What?”

“I think they’re playing R.E.M, right?” Her eyes diverted as she listened to the muffled music from the gymnasium. He nodded in agreement. “Aren’t they your favourite. Come on let’s go dance”

“Leslie, how do you remember- “

“Please dance with me” Her eyes were pleading him and there was no way he could say no to her when she looked like that.

He stood up, offered a hand to pull her to her feet and lead her back into the main room. When he reached the dance floor he had no idea what he was doing, Ben was in no way a dancer. Thankfully Leslie took control and placed her hands around his neck, whilst his instinctively moved to her hips.

“Do you remember when we danced at senior prom?”

“Of course” How could he possibly forget. He’d wanted to ask her to prom but Mark had gotten there first, and then proceeded to ruin her night like the jackass he was. He noticed Leslie crying from across the room and asked her dance with him. He was as bad of a dancer then as he was now, but he still loved every minute of it. Being this close to Leslie and having an excuse to be able to touch her. Being able to smell her perfume and see every detail of her face.

“I was so nervous when you asked me to dance with you”

“Oh really?” Now it was Leslie’s turn to feel embarrassed. His smile turned into a cocky smirk as he looked down at her. Her cheeks flushed pink and her eyes fluttered down to the floor. It was possibly the cutest thing Ben had ever seen. 

“Mark wasn’t the only reason I was crying that night” He didn’t say anything, just kept looking at her, waiting for her to elaborate. “I was upset that you went to prom with Cindy and not me” Her eyes were fixed on the ground, unable to look at him. “I know it’s dumb, I… I had a major crush on you and I thought…maybe you might’ve asked me to prom”

She finally looked up at him and he started edging closer to her. But when he did the music changed to something more upbeat and they quickly parted.

“Do you want to get out of here?” She nodded quickly and took his hand as they walked out of the school

When they reached the parking lot, Ben quickly sobered up and realised what it was they were doing.

“I… Err… I have a hotel room, if you- “

“Yes” She said quickly, causing Ben to smile harder than he thought was physically possible.

They hailed a cab and quickly piled in not wasting any time. The ride took what seemed like forever and the tension was becoming unbearable. So Ben reached over and grabbed her hand in his, he sighed in relief when she accepted the gesture and squeezed his hand back. 

Ben handed the cab driver $20 and told him to keep the change. He’d been waiting 10 years for this, he didn’t need to waste any more time. They exited the cab and quickly walked towards the front doors. But before Leslie entered Ben grabbed her forearm and pulled her towards him, quickly brushing his lips against hers. He pushed his hand through her hair while the other was firmly fixed on her hip. She put her hands around his shoulders, pulling on the hairs on the nape of his neck while he devoured her. He shifted his head to the other side and put his thumb on her chin opening her up to him. They both sighed into each other, resting their foreheads together when they finally pulled apart.

“I’ve been waiting for you to do that for a long time” When she spoke he could feel her breath against his face. He didn’t want to move away from her but they had to make it up to his room. So he grabbed her hand and quickly pulled her through the hotel and into the elevator. When they reached his room Ben was shaking so much it took him several attempts to correctly insert the room key, swearing under his breath each time he made a mistake. Leslie didn’t seem to mind though, she just giggled behind him while she rubbed her hand up and down his back, which wasn’t helping Ben concentrate. When he finally got the door open he quickly pulled her inside, closing the door and pushing her against it. 

When he heard her head hit against the wood, he muttered a sorry between kisses. He pulled her shirt from the waistband of her skirt and smoothed his hand across her stomach. She pulled away from him so Ben clasped his mouth onto her neck and started nipping and sucking at the skin, sure to leave a mark. 

“Bed” she breathed. Ben quickly picked her up and threw her on the bed with a bounce, her shoes falling to the floor in the process. He crawled up her body and they both smiled into a kiss. Ben making quick work of her clothes, pulling her shirt over her head and reaching behind her to unclasp her bra. He threw the discarded clothing across the room while she started undoing his shirt buttons. Once she’d removed the shirt from his shoulders she smoothed her heads up his chest. 

“You’re so beautiful” He whispered, noticing how her cheeks and neck flushed in response; it was unbelievably arousing. He didn’t want to wait any longer so he quickly stood up and removed his pants and shoes whilst Leslie removed her skirt and got under the comforter. He joined her under the covers positioning himself above her. They awkwardly removed their underwear and Ben suddenly felt like a teenager again. She reached up to kiss him, but he pulled away and shook his head. 

“I just want to look at you for a second” A smile crept over her face and she held his gaze.

“You can look at me later Wyatt” She teased, placing a hand behind his head and pulling him down for a kiss. It was slow and soft and less rushed than before, knowing that there was no turning back now, so they could take their time. “Do you have a condom?” 

Ben nodded and reached for his pants on the floor, pulling a condom out of a compartment in his wallet. He quickly tore it open and started rolling it onto himself. When he looked back up towards Leslie he felt completely infatuated with her, she was incredibly beautiful, her was hair sprawled across his pillow and her lips were red and swollen. He couldn’t quite believe it was happening, after all this time.

“Okay?” 

“Yeah” She breathed. With her blessing he lined himself up with her and pushed forwards. They both moaned in unison at the release, the noise she made spurred Ben on and he started moving his hips in a steady rhythm. With each push Leslie moaned out and it sent shockwaves through Bens bones. He was getting close already, he could feel it. But he definitely didn’t want to ruin this for Leslie so he moved a hand between them and started massaging between her legs. As soon as he did, Leslie whispered his name and arched her back up, tightly shutting her eyes. He knew he had a smug smile on his face but he couldn’t help it.

He pulled her legs up around his waist, angling her upwards and then he was hitting everything just right. He could tell by the volume of her moans and how his name kept spilling out of her mouth with each thrust. He kept his hand between her legs, circling her faster when he could tell she was climbing. He was hanging on for dear life, but then she came quickly, with his name on her lips arching up to him. Just how he’d imagined it would be. It only took a couple more deep thrusts into her and he was there with her, panting and moaning. He fell on top of her, unable to hold himself up any longer. He stayed there for a few minutes, while she was playing with the ends of his hair, before he pulled out of her and fell next to her on his back.

His chest was heaving and his whole body was covered in beads of sweat. He saw Leslie turn onto her side out of the corner of his eye. She draped her arm over his chest and rested her head in the crook of his neck. He intertwined their fingers and pulled them up to his mouth, kissing her the back of her hand. They were still for what felt like hours, he was content with just lying there next to her, happier than he’d felt in a long time.

“I wanted to ask you” The words blurted out of his mouth before he had time to think about what he was saying.

“What?”

“I wanted to ask you to prom” He exhaled heavily. “I… After Ice Town I guessed you wouldn’t want to go with me. Then when Mark asked you, you seemed so happy and I… I didn’t want to…” He pushed his hands through his hair. “God, this is so stupid, forget I mentioned it” Leslie let go of him and sat up on her knees but Ben didn’t look at her.

“Ben” She pleaded, continuing only when he turned to look at her. “I don’t care about Ice Town and I never did. Everyone does dumb stuff when they’re 18” She smiled at him but he found it hard to return the gesture. Just thinking about his teenage years made him cringe. “I never wanted to go with Mark. I was just tired of waiting for you. I know that’s not fair on you and I should’ve said something but I was too afraid”

Now he was smiling like an idiot. He rolled her over onto her back and attacked her lips with his. They were both smiling into the kiss, so there was a lot of awkward teeth kissing, but to Ben it was the most satisfying thing he’d ever felt. 

“I missed you” She breathed 

“Don’t worry, I’m going to make it worth the wait”


End file.
